Catnip cultivar &#39;cr9&#39;

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of catnip hybrid ‘CR9’. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds, and tissue cultures of catnip hybrid ‘CR9’, and to methods for producing a catnip plant of the present invention by crossing such plants with themselves or with another catnip plant, such as a plant of another genotype, variety, or cultivar. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of a new highly aromatic catnipcultivar designated ‘CR9’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Catnip, (Nepeta cataria, Fam. Lamiaceae), an aromatic herb fromsouthwestern Asia, is best known for causing a euphoric effect ondomestic cats and other members of the feline family due tonepetalactone, a volatile compound contained in the essential oil of theplant. The aromatic volatiles of catnip are produced in the glandulartrichomes in the leaf epidermis. Because of the morphological nature ofthe bilabiate bisexual flowers, this plant can self-pollinate and alsohas the ability to outcross. Current production methods utilize seedsand transplants from undomesticated populations. While normallycultivated for the pet toy industry as a safe attractant to cats and forornamental applications, recent research has shown that essential oilsfrom catnip are also an efficient insect repellent and are at leastcomparable to the industry standard repellent DEET with far lesstoxicity.

Catnip's volatile oil effectively repels mosquitoes, including thefemales that carry the plasmodium causing malaria and those thattransmit yellow fever, filariasis, the West Nile virus, andencephalitis, for a total of six different mosquito species repelled. Inone study, 41 different plant species were tested for repellency towardthree species of mosquitos that carry pathogens, with N. cataria beingone of the top five plants whose oil exhibited repellency.

One isomer of nepetalactone, the Z, E isomer, can be hydrogenated toform dihydronepetalactone 2, which is as effective at repelling twospecies of mosquitoes as DEET and offers complete protection for up tofive hours, based on experiments involving human subjects. The Z, Eisomer has also shown significant repellency towards house and stableflies, and it has also been reported that catnip-derived nepetalactonesare an oviposition repellent. The peach-potato aphid is also repelled bynepetalactones, suggesting that N. cataria could be evaluated as anorganic pesticide for peach orchards and potato fields. In addition,both the American and German cockroach, which harbor disease causingorganisms, were repelled by the nepetalactones present in Nepeta catariaand showed better repellency than DEET. Common brown ticks and the deertick that harbors the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease arerepelled by the nepetalactones in N. cataria as well as thedihydronepetalactones. Three species of subterranean termites that causedamage to homes and other various wood-based structures resulting insignificant financial loss were also repelled by the nepetalactonesfound in catnip oil. The Z, E nepetalactone isomer was also efficient inrepelling many common house dust mite species, as well as poultry mites.In a body contact assay involving harvester ants, mortality was achievedfaster with the Z, E nepetalactone isomer than the other nepetalactonesin catnip.

Catnip is largely undomesticated, and little breeding has beenundertaken to improve the plant's horticultural traits. The presentinventors have undertaken genetic collections of catnip (Nepeta cataria)and related species sometimes known as catmint (Nepeta spp.) includingaccessions, unimproved lines/populations, and commercial varieties. Thepurposes of that initial work was to chemically characterize, identify,and develop production systems for commercial farmers and home gardenersto have access to a wide range of catnips that vary in their growthhabit or morphology, chemistry, aromatic volatiles, and medicinalapplications, including their non-volatile medicinal or bioactivity, andornamental qualities. In 2004, the inventors began to select and improvecatnip for its essential oil yields, growth and production performanceand for its essential oil chemistry. Relative to most other members ofthe Lamiaceae family, catnip is susceptible to diseases andenvironmental stress, including poor winter survival in northerntemperate zones. Tolerant plants can be used as perennials, althoughthey are treated as annuals in commercially grown fields. Commercialfields from transplants are more expensive, as the labor cost is greaterand the process is more difficult due to plants dying off and producingless biomass. Further, catnip exhibits a phenotypic architecture thatdoes not lend itself to efficient mechanization. Catnip also produceslower essential oil yields compared to peppermint and spearmint, whichhave copious amounts of aromatic oils that can be commercially harvestedmechanically. The commercialization of catnip as a source forabove-ground biomass, essential oils, and isolated Z, E nepetalactonefor new insect repellent products remains challenging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides a catnip plant havingsignificantly increased levels of Z, E nepetalactone. In another aspect,the invention provides a plurality of such catnip plants grown in afield. In one embodiment, a plant of the invention is a plant of thecatnip cultivar ‘CR9’, as well as the derivatives of such plants.Further provided by the invention are plant parts, including leaves,cells, plant protoplasts, plant cells of a tissue culture from whichcatnip plants can be regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps, and plantcells that are intact in plants or parts of plants, such as pollen,flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, roots and the like.

In specific embodiments of the invention, an elevated Z, E nepetalactonelevel provided by the invention comprises, by percent total essentialoils, at least about 87% or more average Z, E nepetalactone content. Inother embodiments, a plant of the invention comprising an elevated Z, Enepetalactone level may comprise about 75% to 90%, for example 87% to90% of Z, E nepetalactone in its chemical profile. In certainembodiments a plant of the invention comprises about 90%, about 89%,about 88%, about 87%, about 86%, about 85%, about 84%, about 83%, about82%, about 81%, about 80%, or the like. In other embodiments, a plant orpart thereof of the invention may comprise a chemical profile as setforth herein, for example as provided in Table 3. For example, such aplant may comprise a chemical profile comprising about 3% 2-pinene,about 87% Z, E nepetalactone, and about 3.5% caryophyllene.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a composition comprising aseed that produces a plant of the invention comprised in plant seedgrowth media. In certain embodiments, the plant seed growth media is asoil or synthetic cultivation medium. In specific embodiments, thegrowth medium may be comprised in a container or may, for example, besoil in a field. Plant seed growth media are well known to those ofskill in the art and include, but are in no way limited to, soil orsynthetic cultivation media. Advantageously, plant seed growth media canprovide adequate physical support for seeds and can retain moistureand/or nutritional components. Examples of characteristics for soilsthat may be desirable in certain embodiments can be found, for instance,in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,932,166 and 4,707,176. Synthetic plant cultivationmedia are also well known in the art and may, in certain embodiments,comprise polymers or hydrogels. Examples of such compositions aredescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,537.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a tissue culture ofregenerable cells of a plant of the invention, as well as plantsregenerated therefrom, wherein the regenerated catnip plant is capableof expressing all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe plant of the invention.

Yet another aspect of the current invention is a catnip plant comprisinga single locus conversion, wherein the catnip plant is otherwise capableof expressing essentially all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the plant of the invention. In particular embodimentsof the invention, the single locus conversion may comprise a transgenicgene which has been introduced by genetic transformation. In still otherembodiments of the invention, the single locus conversion may comprise adominant or recessive allele. The locus conversion may conferpotentially any trait upon the single locus converted plant, includingnutritional value, aromatic value, herbicide resistance, insectresistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, malefertility or sterility, and improved nutritional quality.

Still yet another aspect of the invention relates to a first generation(F₁) hybrid catnip seed produced by crossing a plant of the invention toa second catnip plant. Also included in the invention are the F₁ hybridcatnip plants grown from the hybrid seed produced by such crossing.Still further included in the invention are the seeds of an F₁ hybridplant.

Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producingcatnip seeds comprising crossing a plant of the invention to any secondcatnip plant, including itself or another plant of the invention. Inparticular embodiments of the invention, the method of crossingcomprises the steps of (a) planting seeds of a plant of the invention;(b) cultivating catnip plants resulting from said seeds until saidplants bear flowers; (c) allowing fertilization of the flowers of saidplants; and d) harvesting seeds produced from said plants.

Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producinghybrid catnip seeds comprising crossing a plant of the invention to asecond, distinct catnip plant which is nonisogenic to the plant of theinvention. In particular embodiments, the crossing comprises the stepsof (a) planting seeds of a plant of the invention and a second, distinctcatnip plant, (b) cultivating the catnip plants grown from the seedsuntil the plants bear flowers; (c) cross-pollinating a flower on one ofthe two plants with the pollen of the other plant, and (d) harvestingthe seeds resulting from the cross pollinating.

Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method for developing acatnip plant in a catnip breeding program comprising: obtaining a catnipplant, or its parts, according to the invention; and employing saidplant or parts as a source of breeding material using plant breedingtechniques. In the method, the plant breeding techniques may beselected, for example, from the group consisting of recurrent selection,mass selection, bulk selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, geneticmarker-assisted selection, and genetic transformation. In certainembodiments of the invention, the catnip plant of the invention is usedas a male or female parent.

Still yet another aspect of the invention is a method of producing acatnip plant derived from a plant provided herein, the method comprisingthe steps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from a plant of theinvention by crossing the plant with a second catnip plant; and (b)crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce aprogeny plant of a subsequent generation which is derived from a plantof the invention. In one embodiment of the invention, the method furthercomprises: (c) crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generationwith itself or a second plant; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for,in some embodiments, at least 2, 3, 4 or more additional generations toproduce an inbred catnip plant derived from a plant of the invention.Also provided by the invention is a plant produced by this and the othermethods of the invention.

In another embodiment of the invention, the method of producing a catnipplant derived from a plant of the invention further comprises: (a)crossing a derived catnip plant with itself or another catnip plant toyield additional derived progeny catnip seed; (b) growing the progenycatnip seed of step (a) under plant growth conditions to yieldadditional derived catnip plants; and (c) repeating the crossing andgrowing steps of (a) and (b) to generate further catnip plants. Inspecific embodiments, steps (a) and (b) may be repeated at least 1, 2,3, 4, or 5 or more times as desired. The invention still furtherprovides a catnip plant produced by this and the foregoing methods.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1—Photo of catnip cv. ‘CR9’ with insect pollinators (just below thearrows).

FIG. 2—Gas chromatogram of the essential oil also referred to as thearomatic volatile oil, from catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ illustrating the peakof Z, E nepetalactone.

FIG. 3—Mass spectra of Z, E nepetalactone, the major compound found inthe essential oil of catnip ‘CR9’.

FIG. 4—Dose dependent landing inhibition curve for A. aegypti followingvarious repellent treatments at 0.01%, 0.10% and 1.00%. Values withincolumns followed by the different letters are significantly differentaccording to Duncan's test at P≤0.05.

FIG. 5—Dose dependent landing inhibition curve for A. gambiae followingvarious repellent treatments at 0.01%, 0.10% and 1.00%.

FIG. 6—Time course analysis comparing 10% DEET and crude CR9 essentialoil over 24 hours. Values within columns followed by the differentletters are significantly different according to Duncan's test atP≤0.05.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds, and derivatives of catnip (Nepeta cataria) ‘CR9’. Catnip cultivar‘CR9’ is the first cultivar of Nepeta cataria in North America developedspecifically for commercial agricultural production with a more uprightgrowth habit and higher biomass, essential oil, and with a purposefullybred elevated level of Z, E nepetalactone yield (as a function of therelative percentage of the total essential oil yield). In certainembodiments, a plant of the invention comprises elevated levels of Z, Enepetalactone relative to a wild type plant. For example, a plant of theinvention may comprise elevated levels of Z, E nepetalactone of about75% to 90% of total essential oils, for example about 87% to 90% oftotal essential oils in its chemical profile. In certain embodiments, aplant provided by the invention may exhibit a total Z, E nepetalactoneyield of 1 g per plant, for example a total Z, E nepetalactone yield of1.5 g per plant, 1.6 g per plant, or 1.7 g per plant, or a 50%, 60%,70%, 75%, or 77% improvement in total Z, E nepetalactone yield over awild type plant or the closest commercial line in a growing season.Essential oil from currently cultivated varieties contains many aromaticvolatile compounds, including nepetalactone. Catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ wasdeveloped and is distinct from all other commercially available sourcesbecause it produces a uniform seeded offspring with the desiredcharacteristics and with a novel chemistry relative to the concentrationof Z, E nepetalactone. The selfed progeny of ‘CR9’ produce higheramounts of biomass, essential oil yields, and the essential oil isricher in the bioactive isomer Z, E nepetalactone in these populationsand amounts are significantly higher than anything previously reported.‘CR9’ provides a superior catnip plant for commercial field production,for dried catnip, or for the distilled aromatic essential oils that havemultiple applications, including the pet toy and insect repellentindustries.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Catnip Hybrid ‘CR9’

‘CR9’ was developed after six different randomized complete block growthtrials by selecting the best field performing plants that grew the mostupright, survived the winters in New Jersey, and produced the highestabove-ground biomass and essential oil and Z, E nepetalactone yields. In2001, the USDA N. cataria germplasm was comparatively grown at theRutgers Clifford E. & Melda Snyder Research Farm, in Pittstown, N.J.along with a wide range of commercial catnip varieties in a seeded fieldtrial. For two growing seasons, individual plants that were off-typesand exhibited poor performance and/or winter injury were removed fromthe study. In 2002, the remaining plants from the best performing USDAline PI# W6 17691 were allowed to outcross by wind and bees, the seedwas collected from the remaining individual plants, and the new advancedbreeding line was formed. In 2005, these seeds were sown in a fieldtrial at the Rutgers Fruit and Ornamental Research Extension Center inCream Ridge N.J., to identify lines with the desired phenotypiccharacteristics and to evaluate their uniformity. Only the mostpromising plants were left in the field, all others were removed. In2006, after the plants were subjected to the winter season and assessedfor winter survival, selections were made from this field with respectto biomass and winter survival by taking cuttings of the individualplants and allowing them to self-pollinate in a research greenhouse. In2007, those selfed seeds were planted in another two-year evaluation atthe Rutgers Clifford E. & Melda Snyder Research Farm, in Pittstown, N.J.Selections took place in the second year after the plants were subjectedto the winter season. Plant selections were also largely based upontotal essential oil production (e.g., yield/plant) and Z, Enepetalactone concentration. The selections from 2008 were then clonallyevaluated for two additional years in 2010 and 2011 at the same researchfarm to ensure minimal environmental influence on the variation ofessential oil yields and nepetalactone concentration. Those clones werethen selfed and the seed was used in the next growth trial in 2013. Thegenealogy of cultivar ‘CR9’ is provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Genealogy of the New Catnip Cultivar ‘CR9’ (Nepeta cataria)

-   2001 Original seeded field establishment for catnip evaluation of    the USDA germplasm and commercial lines including USDA germplasm PI    # W6 17691.    -   Evaluation for desired morphological characteristics and the        rouging out of poor performing plants was performed.-   2002 Plants remaining in 2002 that successfully overwintered from    2001 and exhibited desired morphological characteristics formed the    breeding lines (C244, C245, C246, C47, C248, C249, and G1) and were    allowed to outcross.-   2005 The outcrossed seeds from lines (C244, C245, C246, C47, C248,    C249, and G1) were sown in a field trial and evaluated for desired    phenotypic characteristics as well as the rouging out of poor    performing plants.-   2006 Plants remaining from the 2005 field trials and which exhibited    desired phenotypic characteristics were selected forming the    breeding line (CR).    -   CR breeding lines were allowed to self-pollinate in a research        greenhouse.-   2007 The CR line was sown in a field growth trial in which    individual plants were identified for desired phenotypic    characteristics with emphasis on essential oils.-   2008 Selections of advanced lines including CR9 from the CR breeding    lines were made after the 2007 winter with emphasis on essential oil    characteristics, winter hardiness, growth habit, and biomass and    essential oil yields and chemical profiles.-   2010 Clonal evaluation of CR9 in comparison to other advanced catnip    lines for desired morphological characteristics and essential oil    analysis was conducted.-   2011 Clonal evaluation of seven advanced breeding lines including    CR9 for desired morphological characteristics and essential oil    analysis was conducted.    -   Breeding lines were allowed to self-pollinate in a research        greenhouse.-   2013 Final seeded evaluation of the selfed, advanced breeding line    ‘CR9’ the five and commercial lines for comparison and to ensure    stability of the self-seeded progeny of CR9.    -   Selection of ‘CR9’ for the new catnip cultivar Nepeta cataria L.        ‘CR9’

In 2013, the clones demonstrating uniform production of essential oilyields and nepetalactone concentration had their selfed progeny plantedin a final seeded field evaluation that year at the New JerseyAgricultural Experiment Station Clifford E. & Melda Snyder ResearchFarm, in Pittstown, N.J. The progeny of ‘CR9’ was field grown andcompared to commercial seed companies offering catnip (Johnny's SelectedSeeds, Albion, Me.; Ferry Morse, Norton, Mass.; Stokes, Buffalo, N.Y.;Territorial Seed Company, Cottage Grove, Oreg.; Richters Herbs,Goodwood, Ontario, Canada). The land was cultivated by disc plowing andraised beds were then mechanically prepared, followed by the placementof drip irrigation and plastic mulch. The land was fertilized at 900lbs/acre of 15-15-15 and was irrigated through drip irrigation as neededand as described (Park et al., 2007). The experimental design for 2013was a randomized complete block design with 10 plants in each of the sixlines having their morphological characteristics recorded for each ofthe three replications. The plants were spaced 61 cm apart within therows and the rows were spaced 274 cm apart. Once the plants were in fullflower, morphological characteristics were recorded, the plants were cutback to the ground level after 10 weeks, and the entire plot was bulkharvested and dried on site at 37° C. using a walk-in forced-aircommercial Powell Tobacco dryer converted to the drying of herbs andbotanicals. Plant height, plant width, leaf length, leaf width, and dryweights were recorded. Plant height was measured from the soil level tothe flowers down the center of the plant. Plant width was determined bymeasuring the diameter of the plant. Leaf length was the measurementfrom the tip of the leaf to the beginning of the petiole on the sidethat connects to the leaf. The width of the leaf was measured at thebasal portion of the leaf at the largest diameter. Dry weights weredetermined by recording the weight after plants had lost all the waterat the set unified temperature of 37° C. The plants in the field wereallowed to grow again to maturity, at which point they were again bulkharvested as described above and dried on site at 37° C. Essential oilyields were determined by the hydrodistillation of all of theabove-ground biomass of the plant using a Clevenger-type distillationunit with 100 g of dry plant matter. The yields were calculated aspercent of dry mass (mg essential oil/100 g above-ground biomass).Essential oil analysis was performed by quantitatively comparing thesamples using a flame ionization detector and qualitatively byidentifying the chemical constituents of the oil with mass spectrometry(Juliani et al., 2008).

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Catnip Hybrid‘CR9’

The new catnip cultivar has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that thephenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such astemperature, light intensity, and day length, without, however, anyvariance in genotype.

The chart used in the identification of colors described herein is TheR.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England,2015 edition, except where general color terms of ordinary significanceare used. The color values were determined in July of 2016 under naturallight conditions in West Chicago, Ill.

The following descriptions and measurements describe approximately16-month-old plants produced from cuttings. The plants were grownutilizing a soilless growth medium, and were then transplanted to afield in Capay, Calif. in July of 2015. Plants were not pinched, howeverflowers were removed in the fall of 2015. Measurements and numericalvalues represent averages of typical plants.

The physiological and morphological characteristics of catnip cultivar‘CR9’ are as follows:

Plant Description:

-   -   Growth habit and general appearance—Herbaceous perennial,        upright mounding with side stems becoming decumbent.    -   Size—Height from soil level to top of plant plane: About        50.0 cm. Width: About 65.0 cm.    -   Branching habit—Freely branching. Quantity of branches per        plant: About 36 main basal branches.    -   Branch—Shape: Square in cross section. Strength: Strong. Length        to base of inflorescence: About 39.0 cm. Diameter: About 3.0 mm.        Length of central internode: About 5.5 cm. Texture: Densely        pubescent with soft, short hairs. Color of young stems: 146D.        Color of mature stems: 146B.    -   Root—Fine, freely branching, spreads through rhizomes.

Foliage Description:

-   -   General Description—Quantity of leaves per main branch:        About 12. Fragrance: Strong, minty. Form: Simple. Arrangement:        Opposite.    -   Leaves—Aspect: Acute to perpendicular angle to stem. Shape:        Ovate. Margin: Crenate. Apex: Acute. Base: Cordate. Venation        pattern: Longitudinally grooved, impressed on adaxial surface        and ribbed on abaxial surface. Length of mature leaf: About        3.0 cm. Width of mature leaf: About 2.8 cm. Texture of upper and        lower surfaces: Densely pubescent. Color of upper surface of        young and mature foliage: 137B with venation of 137A. Color of        lower surface of young and mature foliage: Closest to but        greener than N138C, venation of 145C.    -   Petiole—Length: About 1.0 cm. Diameter: About 1.0 mm. Texture:        Densely pubescent with soft, short hairs. Color: 145B.

Inflorescence Description:

-   -   General description—Type: Terminal and lateral cymosely        clustered with flowers either sessile or branched in        verticillaster arrangement in the upper nodes, florets in        clusters of 8 to 12, not persistent. Quantity of inflorescences        per plant: About 36. Fragrance: Strong, minty. Length or height        of terminal inflorescences: About 6.0 cm. Width of terminal        inflorescences: About 3.0 cm. Length or height of lateral        inflorescences: About 2.0 cm. Width of lateral inflorescences:        About 1.0 cm.    -   Peduncle—Shape: Square in cross section. Strength: Strong.        Aspect: Erect. Length for terminal cluster: About 2.0 cm.        Diameter: About 2.0 mm. Texture: Densely glandular pubescent.        Color: 146D.

Flower Description:

-   -   Type—Single, zygomorphic.    -   Bud—Rate of opening: Generally takes 2 to 3 days for bud to        progress from first color to fully open flower.    -   Bud just before opening—Shape: Obovoid. Length: About 5.0 cm.        Diameter: About 2.0 mm. Texture: Densely pubescent. Color: Calyx        portion of 138B and petal portion of NN155B.    -   Corolla—Shape: Bilabiate, upper lip two lobes and lower lip        having three lobes, base fused. Width: About 4.0 mm. Length:        About 5.0 mm. Depth: About 7.0 mm.    -   Upper lip—Shape: Obovate, highly reflexed. Margin: Entire. Apex:        Rounded. Length from throat: About 2.0 mm. Width: About 1.0 mm.        Texture of inner surface: Glabrous. Texture of outer surface:        Sparsely pubescent. Color of inner surface when first and fully        open: NN155D. Color of outer surface when first and fully open:        NN155D.    -   Lower lip—Shape of lateral lobes: Oblong. Shape of central        lobes: Obovate. Margin: Entire. Apex of central lobe: Scalloped.        Apex of lateral lobes: Rounded. Length from throat of central        lobe: About 3.0 mm. Width of central lobe: About 4.0 mm. Length        from throat of lateral lobes: About 0.5 mm. Width of lateral        lobes: About 1.0 mm. Texture of upper surface of lateral lobes:        Glabrous. Texture of upper surface of central lobe: Densely        pubescent at throat opening. Texture of lower surface of lateral        and central lobes: Sparsely pubescent. Color of upper surface        when first and fully open: NN155D. Color of lower surface when        first and fully open: NN155D.    -   Corolla tube—Length: About 5.0 mm. Diameter at opening: About        2.0 mm. Diameter at base: About 1.0 mm. Texture of inner        surface: Glabrous. Texture of outer surface: Densely pubescent.        Color of inner surface when first and fully open: NN155D. Color        of outer surface when first and fully open: NN155D.    -   Calyx—Shape: Tubular. Length: About 5.0 mm. Diameter: About 1.5        mm.    -   Sepals—Quantity per flower: 5. Shape: Linear. Apex: Acute.        Length: About 5.0 mm. Width of lobes: About 1.0 mm. Texture of        inner surface: Moderately pubescent. Texture of outer surface:        Densely pubescent. Color of inner surface: 138C. Color of outer        surface: 138B.    -   Pedicel—Strength: Strong, flexible. Length: About 1.0 mm.        Diameter: About 0.5 mm. Texture: Densely pubescent. Color: 146D.    -   Reproductive organs—Androecium: Stamen quantity: 4 per flower,        adnate to corolla tube. Stamen length: About 4.0 mm. Filament        length of free portion: About 0.5 mm. Filament color: NN155D.        Anther shape: Bi-lobed. Anther length: About 0.5 mm. Anther        color: NN155B. Pollen amount: Moderate. Pollen color: NN155D.        Gynoecium: Pistil quantity: 1 per flower, slightly curved.        Pistil length: About 7.0 mm. Stigma shape: Cleft, two-parted.        Stigma length: Less than 1.0 mm. Stigma color: NN155D. Style        length: About 6.0 mm. Style color: NN155D. Ovary length: About        1.0 mm. Ovary color: N144D.

As described above, the progeny of the ‘CR9’ cultivar of N. cataria haveopposite triangular ovate leaves that have crenate edges. All of theleaves are dark to light green. These plants are bushy and flower within90 days. The white bilabiate flowers are grown on terminalinflorescences in whorls. ‘CR9’ plants were the tallest and had thelargest leaves. Once cut back and allowed to regrow, ‘CR9’ plantsremained the tallest but the leaf dimensions resemble the commerciallines in the same study (Table 2). In central New Jersey's growing zonesix (40.559340, −74.961282), this plant can be harvested twice in agrowing season for biomass, essential oils, and for Z, E nepetalactone.Catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ can also be kept from flowering by continualpruning. The plants serve as an excellent source for pollinators. Bees,butterflies, and many other insects frequently visited all the catnips,including the progeny of ‘CR9’ plants during the entire flowering period(FIG. 1). Chemical characterization of the essential oil of these plantsusing both gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectroscopy (MS) withalkane standards confirmed the presence of Z, E nepetalactone (FIGS. 2and 3) (Adams, 2007).

Performance

‘CR9’ performed far better than selections from each of the commercialseed companies to which it was compared. ‘CR9’ has a mean dry weight perplant of 158.0 g per plant on the first harvest and 177.0 g on thesecond harvest for a total of 335 g per year with a 33% improvement overthe closest commercial line. Plants of the invention produce about 0.8%essential oil as a percent of dry weight. The essential oil yield perplant is 1.54 g per plant on the first harvest and 1.38 g per plant onthe second harvest, for a total of 2.92 g per year with a 54%improvement over the closest commercial line. Z, E nepetalactone yieldwas 1.34 g per plant on the first harvest and 0.35 g on the secondharvest for a total of 1.7 g per year with a 77% improvement over theclosest commercial line. The concentration of Z, E nepetalactone was 87%on the first harvest, and 25% on the second harvest, with all catniplines evaluated exhibiting decreased concentration of Z, Enepetalactone. The chemical profile of catnip variety ‘CR9’ is providedin Table 3. ‘CR9’ survived winter conditions and exhibited the leastwinter injury and die-back compared to the commercial catnips that wereevaluated. As a garden herb, ‘CR9’ s progeny can live for manyadditional years on the landscape and could be considered aestheticallyattractive with light-green, soft leaves and a highly pleasantspice-like aroma. This new cultivar lends itself more to mechanicalharvesting as is required for larger-scale essential oil production andwas developed for this purpose. Because of the increased essential oil,commercialization of this catnip cultivar as an essential oil crop ismore realistic than prior and currently available catnip lines. ‘CR9’could result in significantly increased revenue for those involved inusing the essential oil of catnip from the cat and toy industry, tothose interested in the use of the oil and/or dry leave as an herbalinfusion and tea for health and nutrition purposes and for the insectrepellent industry significantly, given that the cultivar was developedas an improved source of essential oil for growers with steamdistillation facilities and/or with drying and processing facilities.

TABLE 2 Morphological and essential oil characteristics of the newcatnip cultivar ‘CR9’ compared to commercial catnip varieties over twoharvests, 2013^(z). Essential Oil Analysis Morphological CharacteristicsZ, E 2013 Plant Plant Leaf Leaf Nepetalactone First Height Spread LengthWidth Dry Weight Oil Yield (g) Yield (g) per Harvest (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)Per Plant (g) Per Plant Plant CR9 65.9 A^(y) 92.1 BC 6.0 A 4.8 A 158.0 A1.54 A 1.34 A JON 56.5 B 98.0 AB 4.7 B 3.5 B 115.0 B 1.05 B 0.74 B RICH55.4 B 100.9 A 4.8 B 3.6 B 113.3 B 0.90 B 0.73 B STOKE 53.3 B 94.0 AB4.9 B 3.7 B 127.7 B 1.21 AB 0.22 C TERR 55.9 B 101.3 A 4.4 B 3.3 B 112.3B 1.16 AB 0.21 C CFM 50.4 C 87.5 C 4.0 C 3.4 B 88.0 C 0.46 C 0.06 CEssential Oil Analysis Morphological Characteristics Z, E 2013 PlantPlant Leaf Leaf Nepetalactone Second Height Spread Length Width DryWeight Oil Yield (g) Yield (g) per Harvest (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) Per Plant(g) Per Plant Plant CR9 51.1 A 82.5 AB 5.8 A 4.1 A 177.0 A 1.38 A 0.35 ACFM 46.3 B 89.7 A 5.7 A 3.7 A 136.0 A 0.84 B 0.21 B STOKE 43.3 B 80.7 AB5.7 A 3.7 A 115.7 A 0.73 BC 0.19 B RICH 44.3 B 83.1 AB 5.5 A 3.7 A 157.3A 0.63 BC 0.16 B TERR 43.3 B 77.5 B 6.0 A 3.9 A 101.7 B 0.50 BC 0.13 BJON 39.4 C 79.7 AB 5.8 A 3.9 A 125.0 A 0.42 C 0.11 C ^(z)CR9 = Rutgersnew cultivar release; CFM = Ferry Morse Seeds, Norton, MA; JON =Johnny's Selected Seeds, Albion, ME; RICH = Richters Herbs, Goodwood,Ontario, Canada; STOKES = Stokes Seeds, Buffalo, NY; TERR = TerritorialSeed Company, Cottage Grove, OR;) ^(y)Value within columns followed bythe different letters are significantly different according to Duncan'stest at P ≤ 0.05.

TABLE 3 Chemical profile of the new catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ % CompoundName   3% 2-pinene   87% Z,E Nepetalactone 3.50% Carophyllene 93.5%Total

Insect Repellancy

Essential oils prepared from ‘CR9’ plants also exhibited insectrepellant properties when tested in a mosquito landing rate inhibitionassay against DEET. Nepeta cataria plants were evaluated as insectrepellents against Aedes aegypti and Anopholes gambiae mosquitoes in alanding rate inhibition assay against DEET as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Adose dependent curve was generated for all treatments and a time courseanalysis was performed with a crude essential oil sample. The resultsindicate that all tested crude essential oil samples and theirrespective purified nepetalactone isomers were able to achieve greaterthan 95% repellency. Between two and four hours the ability to generate95% repellency diminished. At the lowest concentration tested, thenepetalactones and crude essential oil samples were more effective thanDEET at reducing the number of mosquito landings.

Nepeta cataria Cultivation and Essential Oil Preparation

The clonal population serving as source material for the essential oilswere the ‘CR9’ cultivar. The hydro-distilled essential oil from thesetwo populations was used as the source for the crude essential oiltreatments and was partitioned for subsequent fractionation andnepetalactone purification.

Vegetative clones of the two populations were made by making cuttings atthe terminal nodes and briefly dipping them in Hormodin 2® 0.3%indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) to induce root formation and placed them ina mister until roots developed. The clones were then transplanted to thefield. Immediately before the plants were in full flower, they wereharvested and dried at 37° C. with an onsite Powell walk-in forced airheat dryer. Once the plants had lost all moisture, the leaves andflowers were separated from the stems for hydro-distillation. Essentialoils were extracted by hydro-distilling 60 g of dried N. cataria leavesand flowers. They were distilled in a 2 L round bottom flask for 3 hoursin 1 L of water and the essential oil was collected in a Clevenger-typetrap. The essential oils were then prepared and analyzed by GC/MS. TheCR9 essential oil contained 90.1% Z, E nepetalactone and less than 0.5%E, Z nepetalactone (% of the total essential oil).

GC/MS Sample Preparation and Injection Conditions

Essential oil samples were prepared by the extraction 10 μL of crude N.cataria essential oil with 1.5 ml of TMBE which was then dried overanhydrous sodium sulfate and centrifuged at 13Krpm. The supernatant wastransferred to a sampling vial for analysis. Essential oil separationwas done on a Shimadzu 2010 Plus gas chromatograph equipped with andAOC-6000 auto-sampler and the calculation of the relative abundance ofcompound fragments was performed on a Shimadzu TQ8040 MS.

The injection volume of 1 μL was separated on a H-Rxi-5Sil MS columnheated from 35° C. with a hold of 4 min to 250° C. with a hold of 1.25min at 20° C./min. The inlet temperature was 250° C. with a split lessinjection. The ion source temperature was set to 200° C., the interfacetemperature was set to 250° C., the solvent cut time was 3.5 min, andthe detector voltage was set to 0.2 kV with a threshold of 1000. Peakintegration percentages were calculated using the GCMS solution v4.3©software from Shimadzu Corporation. Individual compound identities weredetermined by comparing the mass spectral results to current literatureand screening them in the NIST05.LIB, NIST05s.LIB, W10N14.lib and theW10N14R.lib mass spectral libraries.

Mosquito Rearing

Mosquito eggs were reared in water at 27° C. with 80% humidity and themosquitoes were transferred during the rearing process with an eyedropper. The A. aegypti eggs were placed in a container holding waterand once hatched and formed into larvae, they were separated from theunhatched eggs and placed into fresh water. General fish food tabletswere used as the energy source for the maturing mosquitoes. As themosquitoes began to form into pupae, they were separated from thesmaller less developed larvae and placed into fresh water. Thiscontainer was then placed into a Bug Dorm Cage where the pupae wereallowed to mature into adults. Mature females were then separated out ofthis population of mature adults by aspirating them into a separatecontainer Bug Dorm Cage where they were given a 10% sucrose solution asan energy source. Mature females were kept at these conditions untilthey were used for experimentation.

Dose Dependent Curve Generation

Repellency was determined by a one-choice landing assay that uses theamount of mosquito landings to calculate the overall effectiveness ofthe candidate repellent. Twenty, one day starved adult female Aedesaegypti mosquitoes were aspirated into a Bug Dorm Cage. Testing wasperformed between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm PST during A. aegypti's hostseeking hours. A HotHands® heat pack was used as the heat source toattract the mosquitoes in the upper region of the back panel. Treatmentswere applied to a Whatman® filter paper and used to wrap the heatsource. A control of just acetone was applied to the filter papersbefore and after each treatment to ensure reproducibility in mosquitobehavior. The curve was generated from identifying a concentration ofthe treatments that exhibited complete repellency and then working inreverse logarithmically. Initial tests showed that few enough landingswere observed at 1.0% generating a greater than 95% reduction inmosquito landings and was defined as complete repellency. Time lapsephotography recorded one image every five seconds. A custom was used tocount the mosquitoes automatically through the open source imageprocessing software ImageJ.

Time Course Assay

Repellency was determined by a one-choice assay that uses the totalamount of mosquito landings to judge the overall effectiveness of therepellent. The assay is performed the same way as the dose dependentcurve, except the Whatman filter papers were saved and evaluated over a24 hr period at the 0 hr, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr and 24 hr intervals.

Results

In the dose dependent curve, DEET and all of the catnip treatments at1.00% decreased the landings of mosquitoes by >95% and all of the 1.00%treatments grouped together statistically in repellency (FIGS. 4 and 5).At 0.10%, Z, E nepetalactone generated the highest repellencypercentage. The rest of the treatments were not significantly differentfrom one another at 0.10%. At the lowest concentration, all of thecatnip extracts were significantly higher than DEET at reducinglandings.

In the time course assay, the 10.00% CR9 essential oil treatmentgenerated >95% repellency for the first two hours and was statisticallysimilar to DEET. In-between 2 and 4 hours, this repellency diminishedand did not meet the >95% level and it was no longer statisticallysimilar to DEET (FIG. 6). After 24 hours, the essential oil present onthe filter paper was able to generate a repellent effect. The DEETtreatment was able to maintain the >95% repellency rate throughout the24 hr period.

C. Breeding Catnip Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof catnip hybrid ‘CR9’. Alternatively, in other embodiments of theinvention, hybrid ‘CR9’ may be crossed with itself or with any secondplant. Such methods can be used for propagation of hybrid ‘CR9’ or canbe used to produce plants that are derived from hybrid ‘CR9’. Plantsderived from hybrid ‘CR9’ may be used, in certain embodiments, for thedevelopment of new catnip varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid ‘CR9’ followed by multiple generationsof breeding according to such well known methods. New varieties may becreated by crossing with any second plant. In selecting such a secondplant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines, it may bedesired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one ormore selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initial crosses havebeen made, inbreeding and selection take place to produce new varieties.For development of a uniform line, often five or more generations ofselfing and selection are involved.

Backcrossing can be used to improve a variety, and may be used, forexample, to introduce a desired allele or trait into the plant geneticbackground of any plant that is sexually compatible with a plant of thepresent invention. Backcrossing transfers a specific desired trait fromone inbred or non-inbred source to a variety that lacks that trait. Thiscan be accomplished, for example, by first crossing a variety of adesired genetic background (recurrent parent) to a donor inbred(non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate allele or loci forthe desired trait(s) in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the recurrent parent, followed by selection in theresultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. The process is repeated, for example for five ormore backcross generations with selection for the desired trait, until aplant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphologicaland physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recoveredin the converted plant, in addition to the single transferred locus fromthe nonrecurrent parent. The progeny thus have the characteristic beingtransferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almost allother loci. The last backcross generation can be selfed to givetrue-breeding progeny when the trait being transferred is introgressedinto a true-breeding variety.

The recurrent parent therefore provides the desired genetic background,while the choice of the particular nonrecurrent parent will depend onthe purpose of the backcross. One of the major purposes is to add somecommercially desirable trait to the plant. The exact backcrossingprotocol will depend on the characteristic or trait being altered andthe genetic distance between the recurrent and nonrecurrent parents.Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristicbeing transferred is a dominant allele, a recessive allele or anadditive allele (between recessive and dominant) may also betransferred. In this instance it may be necessary to introduce a test ofthe progeny to determine if the desired characteristic has beensuccessfully transferred.

Modified backcrossing may also be used with plants of the presentinvention. This technique uses different recurrent parents during thebackcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used to replace the originalrecurrent parent with a variety having certain more desirablecharacteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtain differentdesirable characteristics from each.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the genetic background of the plants.In selecting a second plant to cross with ‘CR9’ for the purpose ofdeveloping novel catnip lines, it will typically be preferred to choosethose plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirable traits may include, inspecific embodiments, high flower yield, flower quality, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, disease resistance, and adaptability forsoil and climate conditions such as drought or heat. Consumer-driventraits, such as flower color, shape, and texture, even aroma and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofcatnip plants developed by this invention.

D. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In other embodiments, the invention provides methods of vegetativelypropagating a plant of the present invention. Such a method may comprisethe steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated fromsaid plant; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots;and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets. Inother embodiments, such a method may further comprise growing catnipplants from the rooted plantlets. In still further embodiments, a plantof the invention is propagated by seed, wherein a plant may be used aseither a female or a male parent for producing progeny seed and plants.

Also provided are methods of producing a catnip plant of the presentinvention, said method comprising introgressing a desired allele from aplant comprising the allele into a plant of a different genotype. Incertain embodiments, such an allele may be inherited from orintrogressed into catnip hybrid ‘CR9’ or a progeny of any generationthereof comprising the allele.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, or herbicide orinsect resistance. These comprise genes generally inherited through thenucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of catnip plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. Thus, in one embodiment, the invention provides thegenetic complement of a catnip plant as described herein. “Geneticcomplement” as used herein refers to the aggregate of nucleotidesequences, the expression of which sequences defines the phenotype of,in the present case, a catnip plant, or a cell or tissue of that plant.A genetic complement thus represents the genetic makeup of a cell,tissue or plant, and a hybrid genetic complement represents the geneticmake up of a hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The genetic complement ofvariety ‘CR9’ may be identified by any of the many well-known techniquesin the art. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic marker whichis closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker-assisted selection.

Any other type of genetic marker or other assay which is able toidentify the relative presence or absence of a trait of interest in aplant can also be useful for breeding purposes. Procedures for markerassisted selection are well known in the art. Such methods will be ofparticular utility in the case of recessive traits and variablephenotypes, or where conventional assays may be more expensive, timeconsuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of genetic markers whichcould be used in accordance with the invention include, but are notnecessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs)(Williams et al., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs),DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into a line.This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traits into aline or variety may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the line orvariety by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into a line via this methodology. When thisline containing the additional loci is further crossed with anotherparental line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possible to thenincorporate at least eight separate additional loci into the hybrid.These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as diseaseresistance, drought or heat tolerance, or a flower quality trait. In oneembodiment, each locus may confer a separate trait. In anotherembodiment, loci may need to be homozygous and exist in each parent lineto confer a trait in the hybrid. In yet another embodiment, multipleloci may be combined to confer a single robust phenotype of a desiredtrait.

E. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., 1985). Moreover, recent technological advances in vectorsfor Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangementof genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate theconstruction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide codinggenes. The vectors described have convenient multi-linker regionsflanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expressionof inserted polypeptide coding genes. Additionally, Agrobacteriumcontaining both armed and disarmed Ti genes can be used fortransformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance, or anyother gene of agronomic interest. Examples of constitutive promotersuseful for plant gene expression include, but are not limited to, thecauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) P-35S promoter, which confersconstitutive, high-level expression in most plant tissues (see, e.g.,Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985), including in monocots (see, e.g.,Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591, 1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol.Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemly duplicated version of the CaMV35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter (P-e35S); 1 the nopalinesynthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol., 88:547, 1988); theoctopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell, 1:977, 1989); andthe figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter (P-eFMV) where thepromoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem; the cauliflowermosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter; acommelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNA viruspromoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., 1988), (2)light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter, Kuhlemeier et al., 1989; maize rbcSpromoter, Schaffner and Sheen, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-binding proteinpromoter, Simpson et al., 1985), (3) hormones, such as abscisic acid(Marcotte et al., 1989), (4) wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al.,1989); or (5) chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, orSafener. It may also be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters(e.g., Roshal et al., 1987; Schernthaner et al., 1988; Bustos et al.,1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a catnip plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a catnip plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as environmental or stresstolerances, or any desirable changes in plant physiology, growth,development, morphology or plant product(s). For example, structuralgenes would include any gene that confers insect tolerance including butnot limited to a Bacillus insect control protein gene as described in WO99/31248, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S. Pat.No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, herein incorporated by reference intheir entirety. In another embodiment, the structural gene can confertolerance to the herbicide glyphosate as conferred by genes including,but not limited to Agrobacterium strain CP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPSgene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435, hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety, or glyphosate oxidoreductasegene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175, herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., 1991). The RNA could also be a catalytic RNA molecule (i.e., aribozyme) engineered to cleave a desired endogenous mRNA product (seefor example, Gibson and Shillito, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces aprotein or mRNA which expresses a phenotype or morphology change ofinterest is useful for the practice of the present invention.

F. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F1), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F1 Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Plant Part: As used herein, a plant part refers to a part of a plant ofthe present invention. A plant part may be defined as comprising a cellof such plant, such as a cutting, a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a cell, aseed, a flower, an embryo, a meristem, a cotyledon, an anther, a root, aroot tip, a pistil, a stem, and a protoplast or callus derivedtherefrom.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of acatnip cultivar are recovered in addition to the characteristics of thesingle locus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing techniqueand/or by genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a catnip plant by transformation.

Catnip plant: As used herein, catnip refers to any plant from the genusNepeta, which may include but is not limited to Nepeta cataria. As usedherein, catnip may also refer to a variant, progeny, or offspring ofsuch a plant, including a plant or part thereof. The terms variety,cultivar, or the like may be used interchangeably to refer to a plant ofthe present invention.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

G. Deposit Information

A deposit of catnip cultivar ‘CR9’, disclosed above and recited in theclaims, has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC),10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of thedeposit was ______. The accession numbers for those deposited seeds ofcatnip cultivar ‘CR9’ are ATCC Accession Number PTA-______. Uponissuance of a patent, all restrictions upon the deposits will beremoved, and the deposits are intended to meet all of the requirementsof 37 C.F.R. § 1.801-1.809. The deposits will be maintained in thedepository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request,or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and willbe replaced if necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A catnip plant having elevated levels of Z, Enepetalactone relative to a wild type plant.
 2. A plurality of plantsaccording to claim 1 grown in a field.
 4. A plant part of the plant ofclaim 1, wherein the plant part comprises at least one cell of saidplant.
 5. The plant part of claim 4, further defined as a leaf, pollen,a meristem, a cell, a seed, or an ovule.
 6. The plant of claim 1,defined as a plant of catnip cultivar ‘CR9’, wherein a sample of seed ofsaid variety has been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-______. 7.A seed that produces the plant of claim
 1. 8. The plant of claim 1,defined as comprising a chemical profile comprising about 3% 2-pinene,about 87% Z, E nepetalactone, and about 3.5% caryophyllene.
 9. A methodof producing catnip seed, the method comprising crossing the plant ofclaim 1 with itself or a second catnip plant.
 10. The method of claim 9,further defined as comprising crossing said plant of claim 1 with asecond, distinct catnip plant to produce an F1 hybrid catnip seed. 11.An F1 hybrid catnip seed produced by the method of claim
 10. 12. Amethod of producing a catnip plant comprising a desired Z, Enepetalactone content comprising: (a) obtaining a plant according toclaim 1, (b) applying plant breeding techniques to said plant andprogeny thereof, and (c) selecting at least one further progeny plantresulting from said step (b) that comprises a desired Z, E nepetalactonecontent.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step of obtainingcomprises obtaining a plant of catnip cultivar ‘CR9’, wherein a sampleof seed of said variety has been deposited under ATCC Accession No.PTA-______.
 14. A composition comprising plant tissue of a catnip plantaccording to claim 1, wherein the catnip tissue comprises an elevatedendogenous level of Z, E nepetalactone.
 15. The plant of claim 1,defined as comprising a transgene.
 16. The plant of claim 1, defined asnon-transgenic.
 17. A plant produced by introducing a single locusconversion into catnip cultivar ‘CR9’, or a selfed progeny thereofcomprising the single locus conversion, wherein the single locusconversion was introduced into catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ by backcrossing orgenetic transformation and wherein a sample of seed of catnip cultivar‘CR9’ has been deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-______.
 18. A seedthat produces the plant of claim
 17. 19. The method of claim 10, whereinthe method further comprises: (a) crossing a plant grown from said F1hybrid catnip seed with itself or a different catnip plant to produce aseed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation; (b) growing aprogeny plant of a subsequent generation from said seed of a progenyplant of a subsequent generation and crossing the progeny plant of asubsequent generation with itself or a second plant to produce a progenyplant of a further subsequent generation; and (c) repeating steps (a)and (b) using said progeny plant of a further subsequent generation fromstep (b) in place of the plant grown from said F1 hybrid catnip seed instep (a), wherein steps (a) and (b) are repeated with sufficientinbreeding to produce an inbred catnip plant.
 20. A method of producinga commodity plant product comprising collecting the commodity plantproduct from the plant of claim
 1. 21. The method of claim 20, whereinthe commodity plant product is protein concentrate, protein isolate,grain, meal, flour, or oil.
 22. A catnip commodity plant productproduced by the method of claim 19, wherein the commodity plant productcomprises at least one cell of catnip cultivar ‘CR9’, wherein a sampleof seed of catnip cultivar ‘CR9’ has been deposited under ATCC AccessionNo. PTA-______.